Super Bowl 50 Preview

February 5, 2016

Super Bowl 50 Preview

NFL players train their entire lives to play in this one game, and on Sunday the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos will get their chance at immortality in Super Bowl 50. Both of these teams have taken different paths to get to this game, and the team that can most closely get this game to resemble the path they took to get to this point should end up victorious in this contest. But who has the advantage heading into Super Bowl 50?

Denver Broncos’ Dominant Defense

For the Denver Broncos, their defense will be the key to success on Super Bowl Sunday. Just as they did against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, they will need to limit the powerful offense of the Carolina Panthers and keep Cam Newton and company off the field for as long as possible so they can control possession and field position throughout the game.

In order to make the goal a reality, the pass rush of the Broncos will need to be as strong as it has ever been, and even moreso against an unconventional quarterback in Cam Newton. Normally Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, and the rest of the Broncos’ pass rush can just pin their ears back and attack quarterbacks, but Newton’s uncommon mobility makes it so that they have to be disciplined and stay in their rushing lanes. If they do not remain disciplined, Newton and the Panthers will destroy the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.

Carolina Panthers’ Awesome Offense

While the Denver Broncos will rely on their defense in Super Bowl 50, the Carolina Panthers’ offense will be the focal point for that squad, as the league’s highest scoring team will look to continue their season long run of form in the biggest game in team history. Led by Cam Newton, the Panthers have turned a relatively anonymous group of skill players and made them stars in a year in which the team has only lost one game.

For Carolina’s offense to continue to succeed against the vaunted Broncos defense, they will need to get their running game going to keep Gary Kubiak’s defense off guard and give Newton more room to operate while dropping back to pass. If they can do that, as they did in the NFC Championship Game against the Arizona Cardinals, defenses have shown that they have a hard time figuring out what Carolina wants to do and when they want to do it. That would only spell trouble for the Broncos.

In Super Bowl 50, both teams have strong defenses, but it’s the offense of the Carolina Panthers that sets it apart from the competition. While the Denver Broncos defense has the potential to act as a great equalizer and keep Carolina from putting any distance between the two teams, it’s hard to look at the Denver offense and expect them to keep up with Cam Newton and his squad. Anything can happen in the Super Bowl, but the early edge has to go to the Carolina Panthers.